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In Soviet service, the M3 light tank was designated as the M3L (L= legkhiy: light) to distinguish it from the M3 medium tank which was called the M3S (S= sredniy: medium). It was first put into action in the spring of 1942 in the fighting in the Kharkov area. During the course of the war the Soviet Union was shipped a wide variety of versions of the M3L and were widely used throughout the war.

The T-34 was the most-produced tank of World War II. When the German Wehrmacht first encountered it in battle in 1941, German tank generals von Kleist and Guderian called it “the deadliest tank in the world.” The fast-moving T-34 tank was the mainstay of the Red Army’s tank force throughout the war.

The KV tank was a new type of heavy tank, a rejection of the multi-turreted designs like the T-35 and T-28 that had dominated the 1930s. When Operation Barbarossa began, the Red Army had 508 new KV tanks. So effective was its armour that the Germans had to rely on pioneers with anti-tank mines and heavy anti-tank guns.

At first the M3-Lee tank confused Soviet tank designers with a hull mounted 75mm and a 37mm gun in its turret; the design was simply odd. The Tank quickly proved itself to be a worthy fighting machine through its durability and reliability.

The first 25 Churchill tanks were delivered to the Soviet Union in May 1942. With its heavy armour and powerful 6pdr gun the Churchill made an excellent addition to the Guards breakthrough regiments. The Churchill’s roof-mounted periscope so impressed Soviet tank designers that it influenced later periscopes installed in the T-34/85 and IS-2.

Because the Valentine was so well-liked by the Soviets, the British government decided to direct nearly all of Canadian Valentine production to the Soviet Union. Over the war a total of 3782 Valentines of various marks were sent to the Soviet Union.

The RHA (Royal Horse Artillery) were highly experienced gunners. On the mobile battlefields of World War II they traded in their horse and limbers for American M7 self-propelled 105mm, nicknamed ‘Priest’ in British service. The Priest gave the armoured divisions a mobile artillery piece able to keep up with its tanks during cross-country moves.

Designed to be protected against any anti-tank gun in existence, the Churchill proved nigh on unstoppable in battle, shrugging off hits from German anti-tank guns and climbing terrain the Germans thought impassable to tanks.

The new Sherman tank was the next evolutionary step from the powerful Grant tank. Its large turret allowed it to mount an even more powerful 75mm gun in the turret rather than the hull front, and with thicker armour. Supplied to the British in large numbers the American built Sherman tank would fight through North Africa and Europe till the end of the war.

The Valentine was designed as an infantry support tank. Armed with a light 2 pdr gun and plenty of armour it could shrug off hits that would knock out other tanks of a similar size. The Valentines of 23 Armoured Brigade crossed North Africa on their own tracks, fighting all the way.